New track from Massive Attack featuring Tom Waits.
Looks like its new material – sign of more to come ?
I like it.
Massive Attack x Tom Waits
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Musings on the byways of popular culture
It’s nicely compact. OK it is a distillation of each individual style that creeps close to parody, or, to be kinder, pastiche. I don’t much like Waits doing anything much after his early stuff, but like this. I assume it’s a TV theme.
(To be fair, if someone said it was an AI construct I’d also believe it, such is the current science. Which is a little scary.)
I see what you mean about it being AI, but as it was posted on the official Massive Attack channel, I think its genuine.
I’m trying to identify what MA are bringing to this. It sounds like a later Tom Waits blues and as such I didn’t really enjoy it.
Well the backing sounds nothing like normal Waits to me. More of a “trip-hop” feel
Exactly. Where is the badly-tuned piano falling down the stairs?
I look forward in anticipation of new music, the song above? I like it.
I like it, put me in mind of 28 Years Later.
Sadly, I don’t think it’s a harbinger of a new album – the fact that the artwork is in the same style as the 2016 EPs suggests they view in that lineage
on the other hand, I’ve just had an email about this with the following tease at the end
“Boots on the Ground” is the first Massive Attack music distributed under a Spotify exemption policy. Further releases are scheduled prior and subsequent to the band’s run of live performances, including their forthcoming European tour and summer festival headlines.
From the blurb at Badlands:
Massive Attack and Tom Waits release a new collaboration “Boots on the Ground”, with an exclusive to vinyl B-side provided by Waits – a droll and sardonic spoken word piece entitled “The Fly”.
An accompanying film created by Massive Attack (working with US photo artist “thefinaleye”) will be available via the band’s digital platforms.
This evocative, high-intensity montage portrays a momentous American epoch that is yet to be named, and comes in the aftermath of the largest public protests in American history – focused on opposition to ICE raids, the militarisation of domestic forces, and state authoritarianism.
“Boots on the Ground” is the first Massive Attack music distributed under a Spotify exemption policy.
Further releases are scheduled prior and subsequent to the band’s run of live performances, including their forthcoming European tour and summer festival headlines.
In keeping with the band’s sector leading efforts to reduce carbon emissions across both live activity and recorded output, Massive Attack have partnered with Good Neighbor to produce an ‘EcoSonic’ pressing.
Manufactured using 100% recycled PET (rPET) rather than traditional PVC, the record is fully recyclable and produced via an energy-efficient injection moulding process – a significant shift in record manufacturing.
Packaging follows the same approach, with sleeves made from 100% recycled, FSC®-certified paper stock and outer slipcases produced from recycled polyethylene.
And it’s only £25.99 for the title track Side A, The Fly Side B in keeping with the band’s policy of reducing carbon emissions instead of 10 tracks you get 2!
Mr. Waits and Co can do one.
Brilliant!
There’s now a longer version + proper video…
Bloody marvellous! The visuals and the audio together are fnatastic.
Yes, his voice is grizzlier but it still packs a punch.
Well done to all concerned.
So Tom Waits is Banksy then ?
Absolutely. As ! understand it, Banksy is a collective. So Tom is the ‘Baaaaaaa….!!!!’ part, making del Naja the percussive (and nasal) ‘nk’ and the actual painter, Gunningham, being the spray from the aerosol ‘sssssy!!!!’
The sentiments are admirable but I cannot abide Tom Waits’ voice lately. He seems to have turned his idiosyncrasy into pure schtick and I just don’t like it. Sorry.
Why do you need to apologise. We all have our individual tastes, which is a wonderful thing.
Huge Waits fan here, right from the Small Change days, and also like MA on occasions, so I was looking forward to this. On first hearing it’s the most anti-war (& anti-US) lyric that I’ve heard in a while – good work for that Tom! Not very typical MA as has been mentioned above but still very good. My problem is just how many times will I listen to it? Reminds me of other ‘serious’ musicians such as Scott Walker who I really respect and admire….but hardly actually listen to. When Sunn OO))s (whatever their name is!) most recent came out I thought the same – very admirable and challenging- but when am I actually going to listen to it? And is it really ‘Music for Pleasure’? Or is that relevant? I dunno!
There is a lot of music made with good intent that I either don’t like or (worse, probably) just have no interest in.
I don’t think music or any of the arts is necessarily intended to be liked. Sometimes it’s intended to be a challenge, of sorts. To provoke a reaction.
Of course likeable art is more likely to provide the artist with a living and we all need to have a roof over our heads and to eat.